Entry #169

I think I can...

I feel a bit of writer's block going on right now with Super Chibi knight. SO MUCH LEFT TO DO!

To try to deal with it, I switched strategies and am just busting stuff out with placeholder art to eventually go back and re-do with final art later. It seems to be going ok, but I'm still feeling slightly overwhelmed.

What do you guys do to work through that "blocked" feeling?

Here's a quick video of something that's probably over-done in video-games but I always enjoy these kinds of levels. I did some pseudo inverse-kinematics on the wheels to make it feel more realistic:

Reminder to answer this question: What do you guys do to work through that "blocked" feeling?

2014-06-12 16:35:49

2014-06-12 19:56:07

When I have to deal with the blocked feeling, I approach things in one of two ways. Depending on the deadline, if I have time I will:

1.) Step away from the project for like a day and try to get fresh eyes, rest and re-evaluate my work the following day. I also look at fuck tons of inspirational blogs. That mental break usually helps me get over my blockage.

2.) Force myself to work at my optimal level for 5 minutes. If, at the end of that 5 minutes i'm feeling uninspired/unmotivated, I stop and come back a bit later. But typically, seeing myself make progress in those 5 minutes, I inspire myself to continue working again.

BONUS METHOD: Look back at all the work you've done for your game to date and realize how far you've come.

My methods are unorthodox and step 1 only works if you don't have a tight deadline. Also, I consume unhealthy amounts of caffeine. That really seems to help.

2014-06-12 22:45:19

I play something else. Or try and revisit a retro game with a feeling that I'm wanting to capture to get reinspired. Like for the clip showed, I'd play through Donkey Kong 2 to replay the mine cart levels and remind myself what made those levels so memorable.

2014-06-13 10:39:42

I usually ask some other people for some ideas, or feedback on what im doing which helps me get excited about what im working on. Working on something else and approaching it later is always good ooh and Long naked showers do the trick also! Or long clothed showers they're good too or you know just standing in puddle.